Wed 9 Jun 2010
The Woodshop Widget
Posted by kenneth under Projects
[10] Comments
I’m breaking from my normal routine of posting about hand tools and shoplessness to talk about something that is burning up the Interwebs at the moment. I’m jumping the gun by posting about it here, but I figure that the traffic here is low enough that I’ll barely scratch the surface. 
I’ve been working on a widget that’s absolutely crammed with woodworking utilities, with Marc Spagnulo, for about 8 months now. There are two flavors: an iPhone/iPod/iPad app version and a web version.
It has everything from shellac mixing and dilution (in Imperial and Metric) to a wood movement calculator with data for 230+ species of wood. The iPhone flavor even knows what your local number formatting system is, and uses your local currency for calculations, so it will automatically work for anyone who can read English, anywhere!
It’s an ongoing project, with live tips updated by Marc and more functionality already in the works. You can copy links directly in the widget and share your calculations and other information with others by pasting the links elsewhere. Lots of stuff going on here, and it’s finally live! Here are a couple of grabs from the app version. The web version has all of the same functionality, with a different interface.
You’ll be hearing a lot more about this in the next few weeks. You can check out the web version at woodshopwidget.com, and grab the iOS app here. If you have any questions or comments please let us know!
Kenneth,
Way to go public. I hope everyone enjoys it.
Just wondering if you’ve considered making the app available for Droid too.
Hi there, and welcome. I’d like to make a Droid version but don’t have a phone to test on, so that’s a way off. It’s hard to tell what the market will be like, but if I can justify buying an extra phone it would definitely be in the cards.
I’m hearing that the web version doesn’t work on Droid phones, but without a phone to test I won’t be able to determine why. I’ll surely let everyone know when things shift.
Thanks! Me too.
I have considered making an android version of something like this in the past. I don’t have the time at the moment, though–too much time in the shop or something.
Maybe consider testing the web version on Chrome?
Hey Brian! The Flash-on-Android thing seems to be a bit shaky right now. It’s working fine in Chrome for Mac. Are you having trouble with it?
I don’t have a flash player installed on my phone, so I wouldn’t really know.
Android 2.2 supports it, so we’ll know if it works in a month or so when that comes out for my phone. Someone with a Nexus One may have already gotten it.
Oh, phew. I thought you were seeing something funky on the not-phone side.
We’re getting a lot of Android questions, so it’s not out of the question.
Awesome work, Kenneth! I’ll put my vote in for a Droid version. Even though beggars can’t be choosers, and I’ve secretly been begging for an app like this for YEARS.
=paul
Thanks Paul! Hopefully the web version will be useful while I’m looking into the other options.